Bolgatanga NAGRAT members embark on strike

Members of the Ghana National Association of Graduate Teachers in the Upper East Regional capital, Bolgatanga, started a strike action on Monday.

They claim the treasury department of the Bolgatanga Municipal Authority has refused to sign their establishment warrants.

These forms are, however needed for promoted teachers, transferred teachers and newly recruited teachers to receive their salaries from the controller and Accountant Generals Department.

They have threatened to declare an “occupy the municipal assembly” demonstration every Friday until their demands are heeded to.

The angry teachers have christened all Fridays, “Black Fridays."

The Bolgatanga Municipal Education Office has however described the action as irresponsible.

The municipal education director explains that their pay warrants weren’t getting signed because of government’s decision to pay only three months of salary arrears.

He admitted that his office had prepared inputs covering arrears of transferred, upgraded, promoted and recruited teachers spanning arrears of up to twenty years to be signed by the municipal finance officer for onward submission to the AG’s department.

He told Ultimate Radio, the finance officer was hesitant to sign anything above three months with orders from government, and would not take contrary orders even from his Municipal Chief Executive Officer.

Mr. Gregory Agana Amoah, however, noted that they had received a communiqué from government to send the EW forms to be signed.

He confirmed that the finance officer had begun signing the forms as at Monday, and wondered why NAGRAT would continue with their industrial action.

He stated that the members of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) had disassociated themselves from the strike and demonstrations and were still in school.

He assured that examinations would not be affected.